Tag Archives: Chris Tomlin

A Man After God’s Own Heart

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By Sandy Kirby Quandt

Sheep. Sinner. Saved.

King David and I have several things in common. We both have been around sheep. I was the Queen of the Sheep Show in Rotorua, New Zealand, after all. We both are Jesse’s kin. My maternal grandfather’s name was Jesse. David and I both are sinners forgiven and saved by God’s undeserved mercy and grace. No further explanation necessary.

The more I study, the more I appreciate the record we have in the Bible of David’s life. We are given an honest look at the one who was called a man after God’s own heart. We are shown the good. The bad. And the ugly. The record of David’s life does not fill pages with his accomplishments, victories, psalms and leave out his shortcomings, deficits, sins. We are given the truth of who he was. A sinner saved by grace.

David didn’t set out to become a hero by slaying Goliath. He killed Goliath because the giant ridiculed Jehovah God. David did not seek the crown. God gave it to him. David did not believe himself above God’s justice. He repented of his sins and begged for the Lord’s forgiveness and mercy.

It seems David wanted to please God. It seems he was human and sometimes failed. It seems there were times when he messed up his life and the lives of others. It seems he had a lot in common with us.

David believed in a God who was bigger than the sum of his sins. He believed in a God of redemption. He believed in a God of mercy and forgiveness.

Look through the Psalms David penned and you will see David believed during his highest highs and lowest lows, whatever his state in life, it didn’t matter much if his heart wasn’t right with God. He wanted to be the man God wanted him to be. He was a man who got back up when he fell.

David was a man who wanted a heart like God’s heart.

I want my heart to look like God’s heart, too, don’t you?

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What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record. There was a time when I wouldn’t admit what a sinner I was. But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration. All day and all night your hand was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water on a sunny day until I finally admitted all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, “I will confess them to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Psalm 32:1-5 (TLB)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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New Year, New Opportunities

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By Sandy Kirby Quandt

The following are some thoughts on the New Year that came to mind while I recently read Oswald Chambers’ words in My Utmost For His Highest.

Sometimes we allow the memory of yesterday’s sins and mistakes to dampen our present enjoyment of God’s grace. God allows the memory of our mistakes for spiritual growth in our future, not to keep us chained to the past. He intends for us to learn from our failures. He doesn’t want us to keep on committing them so his grace will abound, however.

God will go before us and protect us. He smooths the way. Levels mountains and fills in valleys. Our part in this is to be mindful and intentional so we don’t repeat the same mistakes.

There’s no reason to enter 2015 in haste. As one who loves starting new things, I need this reminder. It’s a new year. Time for a new start. Brand new calendar. We have our plans for what we want to accomplish but unless we wait upon the LORD to direct us, we could end up in the same mess we muddled through in 2014.

Some of our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things. Just like water that flows downstream, there were lost opportunities that we’ll never get back. But when we let him, God can take our brokenness and transform it. If we truly consider what we’ve done, what we want to do, what worked, what didn’t, learn from our mistakes, and keep Jesus in the center of it all, we just might find 2015 is our best year, yet.

New year. New opportunities. Opportunities to put our past mistakes into God’s hand and allow him to take that brokenness and direct us in the way we should go.

May 2015 be your best year, yet.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Leave a comment below. If you think others would appreciate reading this please share it through the social media buttons.

But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Isaiah 52:12 (NIV)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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Free Gift From Jesus

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By Sandy Kirby Quandt

There’s no telling how many free trinkets I’ve picked up at conferences, conventions, and events that I didn’t need and didn’t really want. I picked them up because they were free.

Ever been there done that?

This is a trait I’m afraid I’ve passed on to my son, Pie. (So…how many plastic cups do you really need?)

Besides the fact I have to get those free things home and try to find a place for them among all the clutter I already have, when reason finally settles in, I am faced the fact I need to either throw the the free items away, recycle them, or hand them off to someone else.

Maybe it was a good thing Pilot and I arrived at the sponsor tables of the Grand Prix after they closed. 😉

Do I really need two packets of Blue Bonnet seeds? What am I going to do with another yellow plastic cup from Dickies Bar-b-que? How many free samples can I actually use?

While I’ve picked up a lot of unnecessary things through the years, there is one thing I’ve chosen that was free, but invaluable. It’s worth? Beyond measure.

The free gift of salvation purchased at the cost of Jesus Christ’s life on the cross of Calvary is one free gift we’ll never need to wonder where we’ll store. And we definitely will never want to get rid of it.

Free to you. Free to me.

Are you like me when it comes to free giveaways, or are you one of the reasonable ones who can, and does, walk right passed them?

Leave your comments below to share your thoughts on the subject. If you think others would appreciate reading this, please share it through the social media buttons.

He (Jesus) is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name. Acts 10:43 (NLT)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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Gotta’ Keep Singing

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Gloom. Despair. Misery.

This planet we inhabit is full of tragedy, heartache, and distress. It’s been that way ever since Adam and Eve sinned, introduced evil and decay into the world, and were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. From the looks of things, I think it’d be safe to say life will continue to be in a downward spiral, until the Lord Jesus returns.

That’s just the way it is.

Does that mean we are destined to wallow in the misery? Hang our heads in a depressed state? Shove our hands into our pockets, shrug our shoulders, and give up?

I don’t think so.

How do expectant parents recover from the loss of their unborn child?

How does one cope with the sudden death of a loved one?

How do you survive the bully’s taunts?

Betrayal? Chronic pain? Job loss? Alzheimer disease?

Economic uncertainty? Terrorism? War? Tyranny?

Long ago, in the 7th Century B.C. actually, the Prophet Habakkuk had questions and doubts about the way things were turning out for the people of Judah. Like us, he didn’t understand why evil was so prevalent. Seems Habakkuk came to the realization sin caused destruction, but faith gets us through the destruction which sin causes.

Guess that’s the hope we hold onto during our times of upheaval. Hope in the One who conquered death. The One who has defeated Satan. The One who has promised to come back for us, and take us home to live with him forever. Even when it seems like everything around us is hopeless.

Feeling a little down? Sing out to the One who loves you more than you could ever imagine. Whether there are olives on the trees, or not.

Even though the fig trees have no fruit and no grapes grow on the vines, even though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no grain, even though the sheep all die and the cattle stalls are empty, I will still be joyful and glad, because the Lord God is my savior. The Sovereign Lord gives me strength. He makes me sure-footed as a deer and keeps me safe on the mountains. Habakkuk 3:17-19 (GNT)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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Listen to God

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I do a lot of laundry around here. My mother made the observation that we were either the cleanest people she knew, or the dirtiest. While with today’s modern conveniences,  I rather enjoy the clothes washing and drying process, I do not enjoy ironing. But that’s another subject for another post.The first time the buzzer went off on my dryer, it startled me from my routine, interrupted what I was involved with, and annoyed me. The thing was loud and irritating. It definitely accomplished its purpose of alerting me that something needed taken care of. But because I didn’t want to hear it, I turned it off. Didn’t want to be bothered.

Like with the dryer buzzer, sometimes I do the same thing when God speaks to me through his word. I find the truth may startle me from my routine, interrupt what I am  involved with, and occasionally, annoy me when he tells me something in my life needs to be taken care of. Changed. Improved.

Ever closed your ears to something you don’t want to hear?

When Pie was a toddler, I became concerned with his hearing. During a doctor visit, I explained Pie didn’t seem to hear when I asked him to do something. The doctor checked Pie’s ears. “The next time you fear he can’t hear you, go into another room, and in a soft voice, ask if he’d like some ice cream.” Sure enough, the problem was solved. Selective hearing, I believe it’s called.

Don’t we all have selective hearing now and then? We chose to listen to the things we want to listen to, and ignore the things we don’t want to deal with. Don’t we tend to turn a deaf ear to the buzzer that goes off inside our head, warning something needs to be taken care of? We’d rather not make the effort to change, even when we know it would be beneficial.

The buzzer on my dryer is staying off, but I’m concentrating on not turning a deaf ear to God. Why? Because I need him, and so do you. Because Isaiah asks us, haven’t you heard? God is the one in charge, and it’d be wise to listen to him.

What are your thoughts on the subject? Ever turn the buzzer off when God speaks to you?

Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? Isn’t it clear that God created the world? God is the one who rules the whole earth, and we that live here are merely insects. He spread out the heavens like a curtain or an open tent. Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The Lord is the eternal God, Creator of the earth. He never gets weary or tired; his wisdom cannot be measured. Isaiah 40:21-22, 28 (CEV)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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